Dunlap, Hood each have 3-for-4 days

WORCESTER, Mass. (April 10, 2014) – Graduate student left-hander Rob Corsi (Oceanport, N.J.) rolled up 11 groundouts and struck out five over six solid innings on Thursday afternoon to lead the way for the No. 29 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team in a 5-2 road win over Assumption in Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division play at Rocheleau Field. Junior right-hander Doug Willey (Shelburne, N.H.) tossed two shutout innings to finish things off for Franklin Pierce, while sophomore left-hander Anthony Perry went the distance in defeat for Assumption.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 23-11 (10-4 Northeast-10, 5-3 Northeast Division), while Assumption falls to 9-11 (5-7 Northeast-10, 2-2 Northeast Division). The two teams will wrap up the three-game Northeast Division series with a doubleheader at Rocheleau Field on April 19.

Franklin Pierce opened the scoring on Thursday with a pair of runs in the top of the second inning. With one out, freshman left fielder Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.) dropped down a bunt single, which set the stage for a wild play with sophomore first baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.) at the plate. O'Herron turned on a pitch and blistered a base hit through Assumption junior third baseman Greg O'Donnell. LaVorgna had been moving on the pitch and turned second to head for third as the ball ate up O'Donnell and got into left field.

LaVorgna was unaware of the location of the ball as he neared third base and went in sliding, before realizing the ball had also eluded the grasp of sophomore left fielder Michael Panza. LaVorgna hopped up and scampered home with the game's first run, while O'Herron eased into second with the unconventional RBI double. O'Herron then moved to third on a single to left by freshman second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) and scored on a squeeze bunt by sophomore shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.).

The Ravens doubled the lead to 4-0 with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning. Senior designated hitter Marty Dunlap (Dorchester, Mass.) led off with a single to right and moved to second on LaVorgna's second bunt single of the afternoon. After O'Herron moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice, Hood put an RBI single through the left side of the infield to score Dunlap. Brock followed with his second squeeze bunt of the day to drive home LaVorgna.

Meanwhile, Corsi was handling the Assumption lineup without much incident, as he scattered five hits through the first five innings before running into some trouble in the sixth as he finished his outing. In all, Corsi threw 91 pitches over six innings, allowed one run on six hits, walked three, struck out five and rolled up 11 groundball outs against two flyball outs on the way to the win (2-1).

Assumption got on the board with a run in the bottom of the sixth against Corsi to cut the lead to 4-1. With one out, O'Donnell took a four-pitch walk and moved to second on a passed ball two batters later. Sophomore second baseman Colin Clancy brought O'Donnell home from there with an RBI single to center field. The Greyhounds threatened for more in the inning, as they loaded the bases with two away, but Corsi got senior center fielder Bret Clark to bounce out to Brock at shortstop to end the threat.

The Greyhounds cut the gap to 4-2 with another run in the bottom of the eighth. O'Donnell was hit by a pitch leading off and moved to second when freshman first baseman Mike Coggeshall followed with a five-pitch walk. The walk spelled the end of the day for junior right-hander Paul Fahey (Dorchester, Mass.), who had taken over to start the seventh, as the Ravens turned to Willey, looking for a six-out save. Sophomore pinch hitter Colin Clancy was first up against Willey and dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third with one out, before sophomore catcher Tom Paine drove home O'Donnell with a sacrifice fly to right field. Willey stranded Coggeshall in scoring position by freezing freshman shortstop Matt Murphy with a 3-2 fastball on the inside corner for a called strike three to end the inning.

Franklin Pierce scratched out an unearned insurance run in the top of the ninth to create the 5-2 final. Hood led off with a single to center field and moved to second on Brock's third sacrifice bunt of the game. Hood would later take both third and home on passed balls charged to Paine behind the plate.

Willey hit the first two batters of the bottom of the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate, but then got the next three batters on a strikeout and a pair of groundouts to close out his eighth save of the season. He threw two scoreless, hitless innings, hit two batters and struck out two while throwing just 17 pitches.

Perry put together a complete-game effort on the other side of the ledger for Assumption, as he threw 105 pitches over nine innings. He allowed five runs (four earned) on 11 hits, walked two and struck out four while taking the loss (1-2).

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, April 12, when they return home to host Merrimack in a doubleheader to open a three-game Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division weekend series. First pitch is scheduled for noon at Pappas Field in Rindge.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce baseball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).